Lord Cardigan at the Head of the Light Brigade

Lord Cardigan (1797–1868) commanded the Light Brigade during the Crimean War and led it in the charge at the Battle of Balaclava. Cardigan survived the charge, during which between 100 and 700 of his men died. The question of whether he was partly responsible for their deaths remains controversial. He openly communicated his reservations beforehand and he only attacked after receiving a direct order from his direct superior.

Lord Cardigan at the Head of the Light Brigade, mezzotint from a painting by Alfred de Prades (1840–1895), no date, unknown artist; source: National Army Museum, https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1956-11-17-1, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode.